Recently I found a member of the wiki (Tuefish) who was adding a lot of obscene language to the wiki. When I changed a page (Iceworld) to change the swears to less "adult" versions (Damn becomes Darn, ECT) that would be suitable to younger audiences (I actually DO know a 10 year-old who has seen the wiki). A few days after I edited it, Tuefish came back and changed the page back to the swear-ey version.

Yesterday, I messaged him to tell him to consider that younger people might see the site too, and he replied "If a child is viewing these wiki pages, then they and by extension their parents deserve the unique and irreplaceable experience which only comes from a premature exposure to all the Fucks, Damns, Assholes, Shits, Bitch/Bastards, Cocks, Cunts, and Hells that the world has to offer", which in MY opinion is not an option for a good website, because kids don't know that this site will even contain a single "darn".

I am sure that many of the editors of this wiki think that swears are not a problem, but I personally will only edit a Wiki that is not "adult" rated. If you Google 'brikwars', this wiki is #14 on the list, top of the second page. Unlike a movie, you don't have a "rating" for a website, so you can't tell kids 'this site isn't safe'. You just have to hope they don't go to those pages.

I don't know if there is anything you CAN do about it, or even if you WANT do do anything about it, but if you are going to kick me out for being picky, than know that I leave willingly and with a warning to all people young to stay away.

It's a good read, but to boil all that down to a nutshell summary: swears are the *least* offensive thing about BrikWars. The game's entire purpose of existence is to promote the glorification of violence and antisocial propaganda. If you have no objection to kids being exposed to all of that, but object to them seeing a couple of swears, your priorities are in terrible shape.

Any kid (or adult) who shouldn't be seeing swears should *definitely* not be seeing any part of BrikWars, and if the swears help to convince them or their parents to avoid the rest of the material, they'll all be much better off and lead healthier and more productive lives as a result.

From Innocent Bystander to Rayhawk Jan 6, 2010 7:32 am

Actually, I have been looking at you official Brikwars site since I was much younger, and I've never been offended by the violence and gore of it (that was part of what drew me to it).

I think part of what draws people of ALL ages to Brikwars is the... hilarity... of Brikwars (For example, you example about Yoko and Dan), or even the epicness (For example, the PARV), of your game.

I was drawn to the game because I loved lego role-playing, but I needed a better system of combat than just saying "you're dead".

I now enjoy the game because it allows for a huge amount of structure in combat, but also allows for huge amounts of chaos at the same time.

I know that I would probably be classified as an Anorak, because I don't supply pizza, I don't drink, nor do I swear a whole lot, but I am happy with what I got out of your system.

I don't really care what those other people on your forum think, but I am in Brikwars for the fun, not the excuses to swear and let off my anger. They probably have fun in their own way, but I personally don't have fun ridiculing other people for having a different opinion or posting large numbers of swears on pages.

I know that you can't or won't change the policies for the wiki (mostly because you would have a lot of people leave), and I am fine with that, but I would like to suggest to put some sort of warning banner on the front page that says that there is adult content on your pages. It wouldn't be big, but I think that a warning would be good. Blogspot.com has an option that makes a pop-up come up to alert people about adult content, and I think that that's a very good idea for this kind of site.

Thanks, and sorry for this mess,
Bystander

From Rayhawk to Innocent Bystander Jan 6, 2010 1:25 pm

What you're describing is exactly the problem. You saw all the violence and gore, and weren't offended by it. There is something seriously wrong with that fact, and that's why I've been making a special effort since 2005 to raise awareness of this. (For further reference, see paintings like http://www.brikwars.com/downloads/valkyrie_1280x1024.jpg .) The swearing is here because people are supposed to be offended by something like BrikWars, but modern society has made them too stupid to realize it without help.

Objecting to "adult" content, which does no actual harm to anyone as far as any psychological study or common sense will tell you, and at the same time equating gratuitous violence and objectification with "fun," when they really do have a demonstrated potential for deep, actual, and lasting damage, is so wrong it should be criminalized.

Believe me, I have no problem with having a lot of people leave. Anyone who sticks around is either taking part in the joke or they are the joke themselves; there's no reason for any reasonable person to want to spend time here.